Breathing for Two
by Lavareef
Summary: Some days Makoto hated the pool, the smell of chlorine, the drops of water on his face as he hoisted himself up on the ledge and last but not least, the cleverly disguised questions from Nagisa that made him reveal more of himself than he wanted to. Some days, he didn't feel strong and cheerful.


**Breathing for two**

Some days Makoto hated the pool, the smell of chlorine, the drops of water on his face as he hoisted himself up on the ledge and last but not least, the cleverly disguised questions from Nagisa that made him reveal more of himself than he wanted to. Some days, he didn't feel strong and cheerful.

It was not one of those days.

Makoto had felt like he was practically vibrating all day leading up to the moment that he and the others could jump in the pool and forgot the world surrounding them. He hadn't been so high on pure atmosphere in a long time, and it seemed that the planets had aligned for him this night, positioning themselves to ensure that everything around him was perfect. This night, they decided to camp out by the pool and have fun under the beautiful glare of the moon.

A small moan of happiness escaped his lips as they finally arrived at the pool. Of course, Haruka was the first one to strip down. For some reason he couldn't fathom, he stared at him like he had never done before.

'Haru-chan is beautiful isn't he?'

The words that Nagisa uttered sent a shiver throughout his body. As much as he loved Nagisa, he was annoyed that his blissful moment was disturbed.

'You know Nagisa, some days I just feel like tickling you until you pee your pants.'

'No thanks, you did that to me once and it was the most embarrassing thing I have ever experienced.'

They started laughing at the memory but they were interrupted by a loud splash in the pool. The sound ringed in their ears as if it were the starting shot at a race. Makoto watched Nagisa and Rei jump in the pool but he felt a little hesitant at first. The rush of ecstasy that he had felt all day suddenly evaporated in thin air. Nagisa's words kept repeating in his mind like a mantra. He didn't really expected someone to point it out, it was something that belonged in his thoughts.

No! He wasn't going to let some silly thoughts ruin his night of fun. He jumped in the pool and enjoyed the cool feeling that the water produced on his skin.

'Nagisa, if you don't sit still we'll fall over and then we lose this battle!'

They had been swimming for a bit but it got boring soon enough. The game they were playing was fairly simple, if you could manage to keep your balance. Nagisa was sitting on his shoulders trying to push Rei of Haruka's. Except, they hadn't even begun or Makoto was losing his balance because Nagisa was laughing and cheering already.

'Alright, let's begin, fight- on!' Nagisa shouted and they started their little battle.

Makoto looked up at Rei and the latter one felt like he was the king of beauty. It made Makoto laugh and then he lowered his eyes at the rival standing in front of him. He wasn't going to let them win and he encouraged Nagisa to push harder. The pushing and pulling continued until Nagisa lost his balance and made Makoto trip forward. The two of them fell head first into the other pair of contestants. Makoto fell a sharp pain in his nose and then it dawned on him that he had a head on collision with Haruka's nose.

'Fuck, this hurts!' he exclaimed loudly when he came up to catch some urgently needed air. He saw everybody gasping for air and he locked eyes with Haruka. He also winced in pain as he touched his nose. Nagisa and Rei were laughing quite loudly and Makoto had to tear away his gaze to look at the sources of the sound. Naturally, they had bumped their heads and they were laughing rather goofily.

He felt it rather than he had heard it. Haruka was standing in front of him with wide blue eyes. He tried to look anywhere but at Haruka and he was failing miserably. His mind went blank and his body didn't seem to react to the impulses stemming from his brain.

'You know, you need to breathe to stay alive.'

He didn't quite comprehend what the free style swimmer just said. He just stared into the blue maze and he didn't quite find the exit he needed. Finally, his brain made sure he gasped for the air that his body needed to stay alive.

'Haru, I'm sorry I hurt your nose.' was all he could say. Still marveling at the sight of his best friend.

'It's fine, at least you are breathing again and acting normal.'

Truth be told, he didn't feel normal at all. All these feelings were alien to him. This wasn't how he had planned the whole evening out in his head.

'Haru-chan, Mako-chan! Let's eat I am hungry.'

Makoto let out a sigh of annoyance because this was the second time Nagisa interrupted his thoughts. Maybe he should reconsider and let Nagisa experience the deftness of his long fingers tickling his sides. Makoto smiled at the thought and he and Haruka got out of the pool.

After dinner he knew that Nagisa and Rei would go to sleep because he had always been like that. Makoto felt his body vibrating with joy and he couldn't wait to be alone with Haruka.

'Care to join me for a swim again?'

He looked up and saw the blue eyed teen watching him intently.

'You know, you shouldn't swim with a full stomach.' He said matter of factly.

'And you shouldn't be a smart- ass and join me in the pool.'

'Let me just get used to the temperature again.'

Makoto sat on the edge of the pool with his feet hanging in the water. He felt safe and secure when he could watch Haruka swim. The passion for the water was clearly radiating of Haruka's body as Makoto could feel it too. He smiled as he thought about the entire evening and he was quite content even though he pictured it slightly differently.

He was torn out of his reverie as he felt two strong hands pulling him into the water. He came crashing into the water and before he fully grasped what had just happened he felt soft lips on his own. He didn't dare open his eyes because it would ruin this moment of perfection. He knew the moment couldn't last forever because they needed to come up to catch their breath. Haruka was the one who pulled them both up to the surface. They both breathed out a sigh of relief as the air filled their lungs.

Makoto finally opened his eyes to see his best friend standing in front him with his twinkling eyes.

'If your breath doesn't come to you, I'll make sure to breathe for two.'


End file.
